1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to live scanning of prints.
2. Background
Biometrics is the science of biological characteristic analysis. A biometric is a measurable, physical characteristic or personal behavioral trait used to recognize or verify the identity of a person. Prints, such as, fingerprints or palm prints, include biometric information. A print has associated minutiae that can be used to recognize or verify the identity of a person. Such minutiae includes information on the distinctive points of a particular print, such as ridge endings, deltas, and bifurcations.
Prints have long been detected and stored using ink and paper. Live scanners are now available which detect a print from a live object and generate a digital representation of the detected print. Live scanners use light to detect an image of a print. A live object having a print, such as a finger, palm, hand or foot, is placed on a platen. An illumination source illuminates the underside of the platen. An image representative of the valleys and ridges of the print is detected by an image sensor, such as, one or more solid-state cameras.
Access to and control of conventional live scanners has been limited. Many conventional live scanners were specialized, stand-alone products. For example, live scanners were often sold in an expensive booking system to law enforcement. A local user-interface was the sole means a user could access and operate the live scanner. One advancement in live scanners was the development of a live scanner that could be controlled by a local personal computer. For example, Cross Match Technologies, Inc. has made available an ID-1000® live scanner with a IEEE 1394 (Firewire) interface. Such an interface, however, is platform-dependent and requires software installation at both the live scanner and the local personal computer. This increases installation complexity and cost. Access and control of a live scanner remains limited to a user at the local, specially configured personal computer.